Tea Time
by ClassicJest
Summary: Lysithea and Edelgard have a talk about crests.
1. Chapter 1

Lysithea's heart was pounding. The monastery halls would be pitch black if it weren't for the small amber glow from the lantern she was holding. It wasn't like there would be ghosts, but it couldn't hurt to be safe.

Of course she had to notice that she had lost one of her tomes after curfew, when the main building would be locked up. Thankfully Cyril let her in, but he wasn't much help beyond that.

Professor Byleth was expecting her graduate to a dark mage next week, and if she couldn't even get a 70 percent, then surely her classmates would think of her as no smarter than an infant - or worse, Hilda.

"_Why, of course." _

Lysithea jumped backwards.

The eerie voice sounded like that of a man's. The only men who were likely to be around by now were Seteth, Hanneman and possibly the gatekeeper and Alois. However, the voice was most certainly none of theirs. It sounded like someone who was terribly ill, or perhaps, _dead_.

Not that it could be a ghost! Those weren't real, and Lysithea wasn't some.. _child_ who got scared about a voice.

So, Lysithea carried on. Who cared if she maybe walked a little bit slower, and her hands were a little more shaky, and her heartbeat was a little bit faster? Certainly not Lysithea!

Lysithea turned the corner to enter the library. She slowly peeked her head in, lantern only millimeters behind, when suddenly…

Oh, thank goodness. Nobody in there. Lysithea sighed in relief. A sigh that apparently was heavy enough to extinguish a small flame. Which it did. To her lantern.

Suddenly that relief was gone.

She was now stuck in the middle of the library, past curfew, in the dark with no lantern to guide her, some mysterious voice came from somewhere, and no chances of finding her tome.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder. "_Are you alright?"_

* * *

"Is she awake yet?" the - thankfully - soft voice of a woman asked.

Lysithea tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt heavy and she couldn't see anything but light. "Augh.." she whined. The back of her head ached.

"Oh!" the woman's voice said. Another voice sighed.

Lysithea opened her eyes finally. She was laying in a dorm room, on one of the scratchy beds the church gave out. She turned to her left a little. Next to the bed sat a girl wearing a uniform and a red cape.

Oh, the house leader for the black eagles, Edelgard.

Lysithea's face scrunched. "What's going on here?"

"Hubert found you in the library past curfew. He tried to assist you, believing you were lost, but… he ended up scaring you so bad you fainted, then hit your head on a chair whilst falling. So, we brought you to my room so one of the students in my class could heal you. Neither Hubert or myself are suited for magic, ha." She smiled a little.

"Why wouldn't you just bring me to professor Manuela?" Lysithea frowned harshly and glared and Edelgard with the most intimidating look she could muster.

"Well, I imagine you wouldn't want to get in trouble."

Lysithea raised an eyebrow.

"Well I suppose it also was because Hubert and I aren't permitted to be out past curfew either." Edelgard gave her a friendly smile like that you would give to someone you had known for years and had few barriers with.

"Well, I'm going to be leaving now." Lysithea sat up, prepared to swing her legs over the edge of the bed before Edelgard stopped her.

"You still need to rest! Your head isn't completely healed."

"Some healer you must've got."

"In his defense, it is still very early into the night. He mustn't have had the energy to heal you any more. Besides, to my understanding, magic doesn't do much for head injuries." Edelgard stood. "I'll make you a cup of tea. Is there any sort you prefer?"

Lysithea sighed in defeat. "Any kind is good." She propped up the pillows against the wall so that she could lean back.

Edelgard turned to face the doorway and called out "Hubert, you can enter now," to which the door opened, letting a greatly tall man walk in. His black-as-night hair covered one of his eyes.

So creepy…

He took a seat on a chair placed by the foot of the bed. His eyes refused to meet Lysithea, instead focused on the ground like those of a guilty child who broke on of his mother's fancy vases.

"The tea is finished. I hope you don't mind Hraesvelg blend." She handed Lysithea a cup. She poured herself one as well, then handed Hubert a cup of something completely different. She seemed to have caught Lysithea eyeing it. "It's just coffee. The caffeine would be awful for your head, with or without the injury."

Lysithea nodded. She'd snuck a sip from a cup of coffee that Lorenz was trying once, he'd said something about it being a suggestion from a friend who had it suggested to him by another friend. The coffee ended up being awful. It was bitter, and had kept her up so late she'd ended up crashing and falling asleep in the middle of class the next day.

Lysithea took a sip of tea. She tried to keep as neutral of an expression as she could.

"Need some sugar?"

Lysithea debated on her answer for a moment, then nodded. Edelgard passed her a bowl of sugarcubes.

"So Hubert…" Edelgard looked at the man she was addressing. "Whatever did you do with that tome that you found in the library? The one about dark magic?"

Hubert shot up at the mention of his name, then regained his composure. "I still have it with me, Lady Edelgard." He nodded to reaffirm his point.

"Ah!" Lysithea exclaimed, causing the other two to turn towards her. She cleared her throat, "I mean, I believe that may be mine." She nodded much like Hubert had.

Hubert's eyes looked worried, but they quickly snapped back. He pulled the book out from beside his chair - Lysithea had no idea where it came from - then handed it to her.

"Thank you."

Edelgard eyed the cover. _Dark Magic and How Crests Affect It_. "How do you feel about crests, Lysithea?" she looked her in the eyes.

Something about the way Edelgard spoke to her made her feel oddly safe. "They're not my favourite,"

Hubert's head quickly snapped to her direction.

"I mean- I mean, I understand their place in social hierarchy and I respect the tradition surrounding them." Good save.

"It's okay Lysithea, you're safe here. We won't say a word to anyone, not even Rhea."

The lack of formalities in addressing Lady Rhea reminded her of how passionate Cyril could be about students having respect for Lady Rhea.

Still, Lysithea could see that even Hubert didn't look mad at her, in fact, he looked _pleased_.

"W-well, if I'm being honest..?" She looked up at Edelgard. She nodded. Lysithea continued. "I hate crests."

"All they've done for me is make my life harder. Not just for me, either. Marianne - I mean, please don't tell a soul I've said this - has a terribly infamous crest which has made her life awful. Sylvain's brother, Mikklan, was disowned because his brother possessed a crest and he did not, and many others have suffered because of something they didn't even ask for. I wish I didn't have any crests." Lysithea sighed.

Her eyes quickly shot wide, "Don't say a word of that to anyone!"

Edelgard smiled. "It can be our little secret."

Lysithea sipped her tea. It was cold. "I think.. I think I'm going to lie down for a few minutes."

Edelgard and Hubert nodded, then they both left. Before the door was shut, Edelgard peeked back into the room. "Sweet dreams."

* * *

Lysithea awoke after her little nap. Or perhaps not such a nap, because it was now daytime, and birds were singing morning songs. On the chair Edelgard once sat in was a note;

_I hope you will join us for tea again._


	2. Chapter 2

_When practicing Thoron, is of utmost importance that you choose a clear path._

_Often teachers of dark magic recommend casting it high over a clear body of water_

_to be sure nothing will be caught in its path. Another recommended place is_

"LINHARDT!"

Lysithea looked up from her tome to the offending noise. In the entrance of the library was a short, blue-haired boy. He ran across the library to a table where another student slept, his head on a still open book.

The other student raised his head. "Caspar, Tomas is going to have me suspended!" he said, still half asleep judging by his voice.

The loudmouth boy - Caspar, likely - turned to where Tomas stood, glaring. "Sorry!"

Tomas seemed hardly placated, but he focused elsewhere anyways.

"Linhardt, c'mon, Professor Manuela says she's not going to wait for you any longer."

"I couldn't care less about that."

"Well, at least come to class and sleep instead of sleeping here."

The boy who was sleeping, Linhardt, rolled his head over his shoulder dramatically. "Only if you carry me."

"Great!" Caspar scooped up Linhardt bridal-style and began to make his way out the door.

"Well wait just one minute!" Lysithea nearly yelled.

Caspar turned his head to face her.

"Well?"

Caspar blinked. "What?"

"Are you just gonna leave those books out like that?" The table Linhardt had been sitting at was covered in random books, some open, some closed.

"Oh! Right!" Caspar ran back over and tried to pick up the books while still carrying Linhardt.

"No, you idiot!" Lysithea put down her tome and went over to him. "Why in all of Fodlan would you do that while still carrying him?"

Caspar looked down. "Oh yeah. I guess that wasn't such a good idea." he put down Linhardt on the floor.

"Why would you put him on the floor!?"

"Well clearly you don't know Linhardt like I do," Caspar started, a prideful smile on his face. began taking some books over to the shelf. "because he can sleep anywhere, even on the-"

Suddenly, Caspar's face met the floor. The books he was carrying were scattered all around him. The few people left in the library looked down at the chaos.

Lysithea grinned smugly and leaned down. "Well clearly you don't know walking like I do, because you can trip over anything, even people."

"Real funny. Can you help me up?"

Lysithea reluctantly lent a hand to Caspar.

"Thank you."

They both knelt down and started picking up the books that fell with Caspar. Linhardt had managed to sleep through the chaos somehow.

One of the books that had landed open caught Lysthea's eye.

_Researchers have long theorized that methods for removing crests may be possible._

_These theories have remained unproven, however, due to lack of a willing subject to _

_test them on. It is possible it may cause fatal injuries, due to crests being woven_

_to their possessors from birth._

"You can take that one if you want. I think Linhardt already read it." Caspar said.

"No I haven't." Apparently Linhardt didn't sleep through the collision.

"How long have you been awake?" Lysithea glared at him.

Linhardt met her gaze, completely unphased by her glare. "Since Caspar tripped."

"So why are you still lying there?"

"I didn't feel like helping."

Caspar chuckled. "Classic Linhardt!"

"_Shhhhh!"_ Tomas said harshly.

"Now you decide to say that?" Lysithea said with genuine confusion.

Tomas looked at her with an expression she couldn't understand.

"I see you two are getting along."

Lysithea and Caspar looked up at the source of the voice, who turned out to be Edelgard.

"Heya!" Caspar smiled up at them.

Hubert nodded. "Caspar."

Lysithea stood up and bowed. "Nice to see you again, Edelgard."

Edelgard shook her head. "No need for such formalities. What was that book you were reading?"

Hubert knelt down beside Edelgard, collected the book, and handed it to her.

"Thank you, Hubert."

"I'm simply doing as I must, Lady Edelgard."

She read the cover. "_Crests and the Many Intricacies Surrounding Them." _her eyes met Lysithea's. " Is it any good?"

"I couldn't tell you, seeing as I've only read a small portion of it."

"Well, it must be at least somewhat good for it to have caught your eye like that." Edelgard smiled. "Hubert, could you have this book signed out for me?"

"Anything for you, Lady Edelgard."

"Uhm, let's not forget that Linhardt was reading that!" Caspar said, still knelt down on the floor.

Edelgard looked down. "If Linhardt has any problems with it, he can take them up with me himself."

"Hmph!" Caspar picked up Linhardt, who had fallen asleep, and marched out of the library.

Lysithea let out a small laugh.

"Lysithea, would you care to join us for a tea party?"

"That would be lovely."

* * *

Edelgard had led them to the tables amongst the hedges outside of the corridor to get away from other people, who were all inside or down by the fishing pond.

They finally all took a seat, Hubert and Edelgard leaving plenty of room for her.

Lysithea examined the table. There were already biscuits and tea set out, plus coffee for Hubert. She took a teacup and added some sugar to it. It wasn't like Edelgard was going to tattle on her for liking sugar! But, on the subject of tattling...

"So, Caspar mentioned something about Professor Manuela not wanting to wait any longer for Linhardt. Are you two supposed to be in class right now?" Her eyes narrowed.

Edelgard chuckled softly. "No, class ended quite a while ago. Professor Manuela got tired of waiting and decided to start the lecture on faith magic not long after Caspar ran out of class."

"Oh."

"So now it is my turn to ask a question. What was it that caught your eye in that book about crests?"

"Well, the author had mentioned something about the removal of crests, which I had found to be an interesting subject."

Edelgard and Hubert's eyes flashed wide for a moment. They looked at each other, like friends who had referenced their own inside joke.

"Ah, that does sound quite fascinating!"

Lysithea nodded. "Unfortunately, the author also mentioned something about how the procedure could possibly be fatal."

Edelgard's shoulders softened. "That _is_ rather unfortunate."

Lysithea took a sip of tea, and somehow nearly regretted adding extra sugar. "What blend is this?"

"Southern Fruit blend. A classmate of mine, Ferdinand, gave me some when I mentioned I planned on holding a tea party. He said something about how he was sure it would be well-received... You seem surprised, was it poor in quality?" Edelgard looked Lysithea with her nearly trance-inducing stare.

"No, I quite enjoyed it."

"Ah." Edelgard seemed a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Perhaps Lysithea should have been more cautious about letting her guard down. What if Edelgard thought of her as a lowly child with no etiquette? This could only end poorly...

"No, It's simply that if Ferdinand finds out you enjoyed it I'll never hear the end of how he was right." Edelgard shook her head gently, but still had a smile on her face. "Think you can keep it a secret?"

"I can safely say he'll never find out." Lysithea smiled. It seemed her worry was for nothing.

She turned her gaze to Hubert, who had yet to chip in to the conversation.

"Don't mind him, he's just reading the book you found. So, Lysithea, what's the new Professor like?"

Lysithea sighed. "He seems.. Interesting. One time I saw him ask Claude if he had lost a feather pillow, then he asked if he had lost a set of animal bone dice, then an artificial flower… and that went on for at least fifteen minutes!"

Edelgard chuckled softly.


	3. Chapter 3

Lysithea shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She twisted to her right, pulling back her arm. Her eyes snapped open. "_THORON!_" She flung her right arm out with as much power as she possibly could.

And, nothing happened. The river in front of her remained completely undisturbed. Maybe next time she should use her left arm...

"Aw, honey. Weren't you supposed to be studying dark magic? What happened to the tome I lent the professor?"

Lysithea turned almost as quickly as Ignatz did a few weeks back when Professor Byleth announced that he had spent a quarter of his monthly allowance as a professor on art supplies.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

Professor Manuela giggled. "Practicing Black magic. Did you not know the difference?"

"I did! I was just… Learning these in case!" Lysithea smiled smugly on the inside. The perfect cover story.

"Alright. Well, then I guess you already know that you need to position yourself like so," Manuela loosened her shoulders and pulled back her elbows. "When practicing dark magic."

Lysithea turned back around copied her pose. "Of course I knew that!"

Manuela nodded. "And I'm sure you already know that you should take a deep breath after posing, instead of before."

Lysithea nodded.

"And of course you knew to always keep your eyes open." Manuela smiled. "When you're ready to cast the spell, don't shove your arms out forcefully. Move them as if you're dancing!"

"O-of course I knew!" Lysithea repeated all of the steps. Finally, she swung her arms out and concentrated on casting a spell. Before her eyes was a spell that looked like an entire swarm of angry bees, however it was purple and misty.

"Swarm Ζ. Good choice." Manuela said, smile in her voice. "You remind me of Linhardt when he was starting out. Oh, and- Lysithea, is it?"

Lysithea turned back to Manuela and nodded.

"I'm sure you also know, if you ever need any help with this sort of thing again, you can ask me." She winked and walked away.

Wait a minute, had she known the entire time? How embarrassing…

* * *

.

.

It was a hot day outside, blue sky hardly interrupted by clouds. Most of the books on reason in the library had been signed out, so Lysithea had walked down to the Officer's Academy to ask Professor Manuela for help.

She cleared her throat. "Excuse me."

The entirety of the Black Eagles class turned to face her, with the exception of Linhardt who seemed to be napping. She smiled when her eyes met Edelgard.

"We're in the middle of a lesson, so keep it short." said Seteth, who appeared to be doing a lesson on lances based on the diagrams on the chalkboard up at the front next to her.

"Oh, sorry, I'll be back another time." Lysithea turned and began to leave. Her face felt plenty hotter. Interrupting a class? Of course they'd think that's immature!

"Lysithea."

She turned around once more. In front of her was Edelgard and a taller girl with brown hair and a little black hat. Class seemed to have resumed behind them.

Lysithea faced Edelgard. "You look a lot smaller without Hubert behind you."

A hand rested on her shoulder. ''That's because I'm behind you."

"Gah!" She stumbled forward.

"Hubie! You've almost scared the poor girl to fainting!" The hat girl said.

Edelgard and Hubert shared a small laugh. If only the girl knew what happened! Edelgard regained her composure, and Hubert took his place behind her as per usual. "Lysithea, this is Dorothea. We were hoping you'd be okay with her joining us for tea, as we have some assignments to catch up on."

"That's fine with me. But, uh, why now of all times? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" Lysithea's eyes narrowed.

"Well, yes, but," Dorothea lowered her voice from that of a stage performer's to that of a child telling secrets at a sleepover. "Seteth doesn't know what work we've been working on. So, I told him me and Edie were working on a project with you. And Hubie got out by… Well, anyways." Dorothea sighed.

"We're supposed to be doing a test on dark magic right now." Edelgard looked at Lysithea with a small smile. "Perhaps you could give us a hand whilst we study? If you would rather just stay for the tea and conversation, that is fine as well."

Lysithea nodded. "I can give you a hand with some things."

"Oh, I hope that you didn't need something important!" Edelgard looked to Lysithea, worry in her eyes despite her blank stare.

"No, it was nothing important."

* * *

.

.

Dorothea had fallen asleep on their table finally after an hour of studying.

"I suppose that we've worked hard enough for one day." Edelgard swooped up her cape over Dorothea as if it were a blanket.

"Thank you for your input, Lysithea." Hubert's face was expressionless, though Lysithea could swear she'd seen a smile twitch at his lips.

She let out a soft smile. She'd only helped a little bit, but Dorothea and Edelgard still seemed appreciative of her help.

"How did you feel about our guest?" Edelgard asked, giving a small huff of a laugh.

"Dorothea seemed nice."

"Ah." Edelgard nodded. "And you met Caspar and Linhardt the other day, correct?"

"Well, Linhardt was napping the entire time,"

"Is he ever not?" Hubert laughed. It sounded like that of a villain character in theatre plays, menacing and devious.

Edelgard offered a small laugh, too.

When the laughing died down, Lysithea added "And Caspar seemed a bit rowdy."

"As someone who is in their class, I can say those descriptions fit them well." Edelgard grinned in an professional manner.

"I can't say I know much of the rest of your class. Though, I have heard that one girl refuses to leave her room." Lysithea took a sip of her tea. Honeyed fruit blend, Edelgard said it was.

"I can fill you in on the rest if you'd like."

Lysithea wasn't particularly interested, but to say no would feel rude. "Sure."

"Well, you already know me, Hubert, Dorothea, Caspar and Linhardt." Edelgard appeared to be counting on her fingers. "There's Ferdinand, whom I mentioned to you before. He thinks we're rivals,"

Hubert chimed in. "To say he's on your level is to say a schoolboy has the same strength as a knight."

"Oh Hubert, you're too kind. Anyways, next there's Bernadetta, who is the rumored girl that stays in her room all day. Then, last I believe, there's Petra, who is still learning to speak Fodlan. She came from Brigid." Edelgard sipped her tea.

Dorothea suddenly rolled closer to Edelgard in her sleep, causing Edelgard's face to turn to the same shade as her cape.

"Uhh, I, um," Edelgard's blank stare looked rather silly with her embarrassed look.

Lysithea giggled.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ah, Lysithea. What a wondrous coincidence it is that I bump into you now of all times!" Lorenz looked away and raised his hand near his face in an attempt at being fancy.

Lysithea sighed. "What is it that you want, Lorenz?"

"Well, I was just speaking to my good friend Ferdinand von Aegir, and he was wondering if you would care to join us for tea after class?"

Lysithea would typically decline a request to have tea with someone she doesn't know, it not helping that Lorenz of all people would be there as well, but it Edelgard had mentioned that Ferdinand thought as himself and her as rivals.

So, there were two ways this could go;

1\. Ferdinand would be very similar to Edelgard.

2\. Ferdinand would be hilariously incompetent.

Either way, there was nothing for her to lose.

"Sure."

* * *

.

.

.

"Ah, Lysithea, it is quite lovely to meet you!" said Ferdinand, as he poured tea into the cups on the table.

"It is very nice to meet you as well." Lysithea curtsied.

Ferdinand looked confused by this gesture, but he smiled anyways. Lorenz, who was sitting beside him, held an uptight expression.

She sat down at the table, trying to be subtle about her interest in the platter of biscuits.

Ferdinand place a teacup in front of her. "Southern Fruit blend. I hope you do not mind it."

Lysithea knew that Edelgard had trusted her not to tell him, even if it may have been in jest. But yet, she did not want to lie to him. So as a compromise, she decided on "I have nothing against it."

"I see." Ferdinand's expression tightened. "Well, regardless of that, feel free to treat yourself to a biscuit. Mercedes gave many of them to me, but I fear they would go bad before I would be able to finish them on my own." He pushed the small platter of plain-looking biscuits closer to her.

"Well, if you insist…" she took a bite of one of them. Her eyebrows shot up.

"Did you enjoy it?" Ferdinand seemed to be on the edge of his seat, both figuratively and literally.

"Yes, actually. It was quite lovely." Lysithea tried to imitate Edelgard's blank stare so as not to let herself appear foolish.

Ferdinand clapped his hands together. "I am glad to hear it! I will let Mercedes know next time I see her."

"Right." Lysithea nodded, not knowing what else to add to the conversation.

Apparently Lorenz and Ferdinand felt the same way, as there was at least a 5 minute pause where none of them said anything.

"Well," Ferdinand clapped his hands together again. "It was lovely meeting you Lysithea."

Ah, so this was the unforeseen option 3, in which Ferdinand would be utterly boring.

Nope, Lysithea was not going to let her time have been wasted. "Don't be so quick to dismiss me, that would be rude."

Surprise coloured his face. "Ah. I sincerely apologize, I must have read the room incorrectly."

She waved him off. "No need." Ignoring the fact that 'no need' made no sense as a response to that, she had an issue. That issue was that she had no idea what she would talk about that would make having stayed a good decision.

Taking a close look at Ferdinand didn't really reveal any new ideas. He looked pretty generic for a male noble.

Her eyes met Lorenz's. She jumped slightly, having forgotten that he was even there. Unlike Ferdinand, there was a lot to question with Lorenz's appearance, from his atrocious haircut to his tacky faux flower.

Lorenz always talked about finding an adequate noble woman to marry. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that a noble-obsessed man like Ferdinand would also be interested in romance. Besides, he'd probably say something stupid for her to laugh about.

"So, Ferdinand," Lysithea sipped her tea with a blank expression. "Is there anyone that you've been… keeping an eye on?"

Based on his expression, that definitely caught him off guard. He quickly resumed his professional look, but she didn't forget. "Aha, whatever could you mean by that?"

Nice try. "You know… _romantically._" There was no failing here, most nobles loved romance. Plus, it made her feel mature to be able to talk about romance with a straight face.

He looked down and away, forehead shiny. "There isn't anybody that I am romantically interested in." He looked worried. "Why, did somebody tell you there was someone? What did they say?"

She shook her head. Clearly this topic was a bust. "No, my apologies, I was simply under the impression that there would be someone."

That didn't seem to calm him much. Oh well, time to switch topics. What was it Edelgard had said to her about him? Something about how she'd never hear the end of it he found out that Lysithea liked the tea he gave her? There's a topic.

"Ferdinand, how do you feel about Edelgard?"

Lorenz gave her a '_don't get him started' _look, but it was too late.

"How do _you_ feel about Edelgard?" The passion of a thousand suns burned in his eyes.

If she played her cards right, then she could get a real reaction out of him. But, manipulating people for kicks probably wasn't a great idea. "I think she seems kind."

He raised his chin a tad. "Perhaps. How do you feel about me?"

She scoffed, not wanting to answer. "Wasn't I the one asking questions?"

"Very well then," Ferdinand cleared his throat.

Lorenz looked prepared to leave already. "Ferdinand, it is getting late. Please, let us save this discussion for another time."

Ferdinand sighed. "You are correct, my friend. I shall save it for when you are ready to truly listen and take it in. Goodbye then, Lorenz. Oh, and Lysithea,"

She had started leaving, but stopped. "What is it?"

"You can have the rest of those biscuits if you would like!"

With that one line Lysithea could safely say that the next time Ferdinand asked what she'd thought about him, she'd easily say she enjoyed his company.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE: this story kind of got forgotten oops.**


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